One of the most difficult demographics of patients to work with are those who are suicidal, especially those that are in the hospital for a failed attempt. A former burn patient of ours who fell under this demographic called the other day to ask for a letter from the hospital for school. This was a shock to most because most of his hospital stay was him voicing just wanting to die. At least, that was his outlook at the beginning of his recovery. It wasn't until I saw an interaction between him and Mike that I saw a shift in mood and perspective for this patient.
Mike is the epitome of "whistle while you work." Not only does he physically whistle during his shifts, but he also has an infectious charisma and passion. He makes his colleagues feel cared for and supported and his patients feel safe and equal. Mike has a certain authenticity about him that makes everyone that he come in contact with feel like family. These characteristics set him apart because he never fails to identify with his patients in some sort of manner, whether it's through a song, movie scene, or simply offering real understanding and acceptance. I had the privilege to witness him first-hand connect with a difficult, distrusting patient in a way that would give the patient the tools beyond pain medication to work through his pain, guilt, and fear.
On the burn unit, we had a patient who had attempted suicide by fire. Due to his extensive wounds and the use of a new grafting technology, he has two 5-hour long dressing changes. These dressing changes are painful, tedious, and almost unbearable for him. Getting him to agree to a dressing change was very difficult as he would get anxious, argumentative, and threatening to himself. It became easy for a lot of our staff to become frustrated with the level of agitation this patient experienced.
Before one particular dressing change, he was extremely agitated and was yelling for more meds, that he didn't want us touching him and for Mike to just knock him out for it. Instead of becoming flustered or pausing to try to get more meds (he safely could not get anymore), Mike spoke to him as if he were an old friend of his. Mike talked to him about how he understood his anxiety and again explained the meds he had given to help with his anxiety and pain. He said, "You know I can't say I know exactly what you're going through. But I do know that everyone hits rock bottom at some point. Sometimes it just looks different from person to person and that's ok."
The patient said, "Wow, thanks for saying that, man." That was the first time I heard this patient say something actually genuine and heartfelt. I was amazed.
Mike said, "Of course. We're all human. I need you to know though, I can't just knock you out because that would compromise your breathing. What I can do is give you some distractions to try to shift your focus from the pain. What kind of music do you like?" They then proceeded to discuss music while I set up for the dressing change. Mike put on the music, gave him some extra oxygen for the shortness of breath he was experiencing due to anxiety, and rubbed his back while I worked on changing his dressing. That was the best dressing change I had ever done and the best the patient had gone through yet. Every time after that, this patient would explain to his nurse how Mike did things and wanted them to do the same. I remember him saying, "Mike played music and rubbed my back last time and that really helped distract me."
Mike gained the trust of one of the most difficult patients we've seen on the unit. Mike made him feel safe, understood, and equal like he was a long-time buddy going through some tough doo-doo, not just a patient who was there because of his own choices.
After that experience with Mike, I saw this patient regain some motivation to live. He started to email his school about readmission for the next semester, connect with family, watch movies with his sitters, and become more open about why he did what he did. Mike opened the door for this patient to feel understood, and because of that, this patient experienced hope, probably for the first time in a long time. Not only did he impact his patient's life, but he also impacted me by setting an example on how to handle difficult patients going through rough times. Mike consistently brings energy and impacts everyone he comes into contact with in his everyday practice. I am honored to work beside such a life-changing nurse.